We're Pretty Happy For Now
by Queen of deNile
Summary: Dick's sick, and his friends and family are there to help (or...not). This is going to be a series of drabbles based off my Party Crasher reverse batfam 'verse.
1. Sick

**Alright so instead of an epilogue for Party Crasher, I've decided to write a series of drabbles based off of the same 'verse instead. If you want to understand the characterization a bit more go read it, but it's not necessary to understand any plot points. So, the ages of the batfamily are reversed. It's in the Young Justice category because even though it'll mainly be about the batfam, I love the YJ team so they'll be in it too.**

**Thank you so much to the lovely RiverFawn for the prompt, she really helped me out of some writer's block I've been having. If you have a chance check out her stories, they rock!**

**Ages:**

**Terry-24**

**Damian-22**

**Tim-20**

**Jason-18**

**Dick-14**

Dick stumbled slightly as he dodged Wally's punch, losing his balance for a split second. He managed to evade another jab, but his footing suffered even more. Dick threw out a final halfhearted fist, watching in blurred slow motion as it was blocked, and then crashed into an undignified heap when his best friend swept his legs out from under him.

Dick groaned and stayed flat on his back, scrubbing his palms over his sweat-covered eyes.

"Dude, what was that? I've beat you like twice before, and both times it took me more than 10 minutes. Are you feeling alright?" When Dick put his hands down Wally's earnest eyes were two feet from his own.

"Ah, Wally, too close, man." Wally made a face but backed up. Dick groaned again, sitting up and setting his sweaty forehead between his knees.

"Okay, you're so not feeling alright. Are you sick?"

"Um, no I'm fine," Dick looked at his friend blearily from under his eyelashes, flashing a grin. "Help me up?" Wally smirked and got to his feet, grabbing onto Dick's outstretched hands and hauling him up.

The moment Dick became vertical again the smile slid off his face. He swayed slightly where he stood, feeling something very wrong brewing in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened as another jolt ran through his system, and suddenly he was sprinting at top speed, one hand clapped firmly over his mouth.

Dick crashed through the bathroom door and fell onto his knees in front of the toilet, throwing open the lid and bracing his hands against the sides. He spent the next couple minutes emptying his stomach of the Crocky Crunch he had devoured just four hours previous, and finished his misery off with painful dry heaves.

Dick felt Wally's warm hand on his back through the thin t-shirt he had thrown on to spar, rubbing circles as he coughed and hacked out the last bits of spit and cereal. He moaned and leaned back to sit on his heels, snatching a towel off the nearby countertop and dragging it across his mouth.

Wally helped him lean back against the wall, handing him a glass of water, which Dick accepted readily. He took a big gulp and swished the water around in his mouth, spitting it back into the cup and wiping the back of his hand over his lips.

"So, you're totally fine, huh?" Wally took the cup from his hands with a small chuckle, dumping it in the trash and filling a new one. Dick chugged it down and glared at his friend.

"Oh, shut up, Wally," he mumbled through his haze. Wally sank to the ground beside him, bumping his shoulder until Dick looked him in the eyes.

"When did all this start?" Wally questioned, gesturing in the direction of the toilet Dick had just been bent over.

"Mid afternoon yesterday, I think," Dick bumped Wally's shoulder in retaliation, leaning his head back against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. "It's not a big deal, probably just the flu. I'll be over it in a day or two. We should keep sparring, though, you need the practice," Dick grinned cheekily at his best friend.

"Ha, yeah, I don't think so," Wally snorted. "You are going to go back home and get some rest. I'm sure the team will survive without our Boy Wonder, at least for a day or two, and in the mean time you don't need to push yourself into puking your guts out again."

Dick turned his bat glare on, staring Wally down. Wally raised an eyebrow, the edges of his mouth quirking up.

"Dude, I have somehow managed to survive stare downs of Daddy-Bats and all four of your older brothers..." Wally trailed off, a devilish grin spreading over his freckled features.

Dick's eyes widened comically as he realized exactly what his friend was thinking.

"No. Wally, no. Do not call them, or I will hide all the junk food in the kitchen and replace it with vegetables and prune juice for a month," Dick lunged at the speedster as he whipped his cell phone out of his pocket.

Wally sped out of the way, backing out of the bathroom and pulling up the contacts list on his phone. Dick stood up shakily after him, snatching a bar of soap off the counter and chucking it at the red head's hands.

Wally yelped as the phone was knocked from his grasp, skidding across the floor and hitting the wall on the opposite end of the cave's training room. The two heroes looked straight into each others' eyes for a split second before making mad dashes for the device on the ground.

Neither of them made it there first. At that very moment Artemis walked in the door, assessed the scene, and scooped up the phone before either boy had a chance.

"What exactly are you two getting into this time?" She inquired, expression curious and amused as she inspected the contact list pulled up on the screen.

"Dick's sick!" Wally blurted to his girlfriend, "And he refuses to go home and rest so I'm calling his brother to-" he was abruptly cut off by Dick's hand being slapped over his mouth, but Artemis got the message.

"Artie don't you dare!" Dick promptly let go of Wally's mouth to jump towards the archer.

"Too late!" She sang, tapping the screen and holding the phone to her ear. One ring later and Dick was on top if her, snatching at the device. Artemis pulled her arm back quickly and tossed it to the speedster a few feet away.

Wally caught the phone and raised it just as someone picked up on the other end.

"Yeah?" The deep voice answered. Wally flashed a grin and responded.

"Hey Jason it's Wally. Dick's sick and-" he was interrupted again by the boy wonder nearly tackling him.

"Come on guys! If they find out they'll baby me for a solid week!" Dick argued frantically.

Wally ignored him and threw the phone back to Artemis, who promptly caught it and continued the sentence, "-and he won't admit he needs a day off! Mind coming to pick him up?"

"Dickie's sick? Put him on," Jason demanded. Artemis beamed triumphantly, holding the phone out for Dick to take. She and Wally high-fived as he sheepishly spoke to his brother.

"Hey, Jay, what's up?"

"Are you really sick, Baby Bird?"

"Um, maybe? Heh, it's really just a mild cold or something," Dick winced as the lie came out as lame as it had sounded in his head.

"He was just upchucking all over the cave's bathroom!" Wally and his big mouth. He had shouted loud enough for Jason to hear him on the other end. Dick glared at his friend as he heard Jason's sigh.

"Dick, you can either come home now or I can come get you. Your choice." Dick gave his friends the evil eye as Wally waved teasingly, extremely satisfied with himself.

"Jay, it's really not that big of a deal. Really. Just let it go, I'm fine."

"Yeah, it's a bit late for that," Jason's voice carried over from the other side of the cave as the computer announced his arrival. Dick groaned audibly as he caught sight of his brother's disapproving expression. Jason's frown melted into a mischievous smirk as he came over, hanging up with a click.

"Good thing I was already right next to the Zeta tube in the Batcave, huh?"

"Yeah, just perfect."

"Is that sarcasm I detect, squirt? Oh, and thanks for your help guys, I'll take it from here," Jason nodded at Artemis and Wally in a clear dismissal. They took the hint, and Artemis gave them a cheeky solute on the way out. Dick glared, but Wally just laughed.

As the two left the training room, Jason turned back to his little brother. Dick did his best not to squirm under his gaze, but failed miserably. He bit his lip and did his best to meet Jason's eyes.

"So. I might be a bit sick," he admitted with a small laugh. Jason chuckled, good humor returning.

"A bit? Did you really throw up all over the bathroom?"

"Well, maybe more than a bit, but Wally was exaggerating most of it, I swear." Jason laughed louder and swung an arm around Dick's shoulders, pulling him close to his side where Dick's 5'7" head came up to his chin.

"Yeah, well, either way, you're coming back to the manor with me, and you'll be getting better in no time! You can survive that, right?" He started dragging Dick across the room towards the Zeta tubes.

"Jay, I can walk by myself," Dick tugged at his brother's arm and struggled fruitlessly for freedom.

"Oh, but I have to make sure you don't run off and disappear. Would you prefer another mode of transportation?" With that, Jason grabbed Dick and swung him over his shoulder into a fireman's carry.

"Jason!" Dick squeaked, "I was throwing up five minutes ago! Do you really want puke all down your back?!"

"Not particularly, but this seems to be the quickest way to get you to listen, so I'll take the risk," Jason grinned as Dick went limp and flopped against his back, accepting defeat. There really was no way to defeat the will of a bat boy as determined as his older brother was when it came to keeping the youngest of the family safe and healthy.

XxBREAKLINExX

[14 hours later, 1 a.m. in the Batcave]

Nightwing roared in on his motorcycle, parking it haphazardly next to a long table of tools and car parts. He hopped to the floor and began to peel off his mask and gloves, strolling towards the large computers and tossing them atop one of the many keyboards. Damian rolled in after his older brother, making a much less intrusive entrance and parking his bike next to Terry's.

Tim, having already changed out of his Redbird costume and showered, glared up at his older brother and shoved the sweaty articles to the side so he could finish his report.

"Really, Terry?" Tim entered the last bit of information on the case the four oldest brothers had just solved and closed the files. He spun around and stood up out of the large chair, grabbing the gloves and mask off the surface and chucking them at the back of Terry's retreating head.

Terry laughed as he whipped around and snatched his discarded items out of the air, raising his shoulders in a carefree shrug and ruffling the 20-year-old's hair with his free hand.

"Dude, save it for Dick, I've been too old for that for years!"

"Hey speaking of Dick, where is he?" Terry suddenly adopted a small frown. "I haven't seen him since we all got to the manor."

Jason was still in high school and lived at home, but Terry, Damian, and Tim all lived outside the manor at the moment, each having chosen their own paths after high school. Terry had gone to Gotham University and then been accepted into Harvard Law school, five hours away, and was now leading his class with top marks.

Damian had refused to go to college for the first year after high school, instead opting to spend the time to work harder on cleaning up Gotham City as well as helping to establish Batman Inc. Now, Damian was a year away from graduating from Gotham University as well, and was planning on working to take down his grandfather's organization directly afterwards.

Tim was majoring in business with a minor in computer science. Bruce had already offered him a position high in the Wayne Enterprises corporate system, as he had with all of his sons, and Tim had accepted readily.

All three of the oldest Wayne boys lived outside the manor. Terry had an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since it would take entirely too long for him to commute the five hours each way. Damian and Tim had both wanted to assert their independence, and gotten their own apartments as well. Damian's was near the university, a thirty minute drive, and Tim's was slightly farther away near the business and economics buildings the school had.

In all their cases, the boys could rarely make it home for just a dinner as a family on weekdays anymore. Terry, as Nightwing, had taken it upon himself to take over protection of Cambridge, since he was so far away from Gotham. Tim and Damian both went out at night as Redbird and Renegade, respectively, but they were independent heros and rarely ran into Batman and Robin or Red Hood, even though they worked in the same city.

So, because Dick so rarely got to see his older brothers, he tended to spend every moment with them that he could when they did come home. Terry would've expected him to be waiting for them in the cave the second they got back, and he was surprised that they hadn't run into him yet.

"Actually, yeah," Tim looked puzzled, "that's a good question."

At that moment Jason came in, pulling a fresh t-shirt over his head, hair still wet from his recent shower. Red Hood had met his brothers on the rooftops to help them take down one of the biggest drug dealers in Gotham, since Bruce had taken Alfred and gone on a business trip for Wayne Enterprises and they were on their own. It had taken a good couple hours of surveillance and some violent fights but they had been successful in the end, with only minor injuries.

Damian looked up from the wrench he had been using to tighten a bolt on his bike at Jason's entrance.

"Todd, where's Grayson?" he inquired.

"Kid's sick," Jason stated, grabbing a bottle of water from a small refrigerator and taking a gulp. "I had to drag him back from the Team's cave earlier today, Kid Flash called to tell me he was puking his guts out."

Terry snorted. "Should've known he was sick when he could barely take out those thugs on his own the other night, trust him to keep it from us."

"Yes, because we all let each other know exactly what our weaknesses are and when we aren't fit to fight, always," Damian's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Tim smirked. "I guess it comes with the tights."

"Yeah, well," Jason started, "either way-"

"Hey guys!" he was interrupted by the youngest of the bat boys making a speedy entrance from the stairs leading up to the clock entrance. He flipped over the railing and landed next to Terry, knees bending slightly to lessen the impact.

Terry immediately dragged their youngest into a smothering hug, which Dick returned eagerly. Terry pulled back and ruffled his hair, letting out a low chuckle.

"Hey, kiddo, haven't seen you for a while!" And they really hadn't, it'd been over three weeks since their last encounter.

"I haven't seen any of you guys for a while. What gives?" Dick laughed and ducked out from beneath Terry's arm.

Tim smiled at the interaction and stood up from the console he had been leaning against. He walked over towards the two and wrapped Dick in his own arms, getting a tight squeeze back from the teenager. Damian was next, but instead of a hug opted for a quick run with his fingers through Dick's hair, accompanied by a small, soft smile.

"It is good to see you, Grayson."

Dick chuckled at Damian's formal tone, accepting the hair ruffle and grinning up at his brother. "Good to see you too, Dami."

"Ahem," Jason faked an obviously over-exaggerated cough, walking closer to the small group and slinging an arm around Dick's neck. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? In fact, I am almost positive that you should, in fact, be sleeping."

"Hey, I was! And then I woke up, and I felt better, and I wanted to see everyone. Come on, Jay, I only threw up once and that was hours ago. I'm fine!"

"Yeah, the kid's fine! We'll protect you from the big bad mother hen, Baby Bird," Terry laughed at their joking argument and swung an arm around Dick's waist, pulling him from Jason's hold. Dick pushed Terry's arm away and glared playfully.

"You're all a bunch of mother hens," he stated, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face.

"Nothing could be more accurate," Tim laughed, "but I guess you'll just have to accept it and live with it, those are just the downfalls of being the youngest."l Tim suddenly lunged forward and dug his fingers into Dick's side, effectively drawing a not-so-manly squeal out of the younger boy.

Jason quickly caught on and pulled Dick away from Tim, assaulting his stomach.

"This is for undermining my authority!" Jason exclaimed playfully, raising his voice over his little brother's gasping laughter.

"Y-you guys ss-suck!" Dick managed to force out between giggles.

"Hey that's not fair! I haven't been an accomplice in this!..." Terry grinned devilishly, "...yet."

Just as Dick managed to squirm out of Jason's hold he was tugged away by the oldest of the Wayne boys, who held onto him tightly and continued the tickling that his brothers had started.

"Ah! S-stop! Damian help!" Damian just smiled conspiratorially, and attacked him as well when Terry pulled away to allow Damian more access. Twisting into an impossible position Dick managed to wrestle himself free, tearing loose of the group and bolting up the stairs of the cave and out the door to the manor. After quick glances at each others' grinning faces the four oldest brothers tore after him.

Dick stayed one step ahead as he raced through the halls, until Jason finally tackled him onto the soft carpet of the most used living room. He pinned him down as Terry continued the tickling, Tim and Damian watching and laughing above them.

"Uncle! Uncle! Ah! Stop!" Sensing Dick had had enough, Jason and Terry let him up. Dick promptly scurried out from under them and plopped himself down on the couch breathing hard and glaring, but with giggles still pouring sporadically out of his mouth.

Terry, Tim, and Jason joined him on the couch, and Damian took a seat a bit farther away on a nearby chair.

"So not cool to treat your sick little brother like that, guys," Dick chided them all, leaning slightly against Terry's side all the same.

"Oh, so now you're sick, sure," Jason rolled his eyes good naturedly from his other side, running his hand through his own ruffled hair and leaning back into the cushions.

"Oh, hey, look at this," Tim held up a DVD case he had pulled from between the couch cushions. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban. "We haven't watched this in forever."

"Well, now's as good a time as any," Jason plucked the case out of Tim's hand and got up from the couch, popping the disc into the Blue-ray player.

"You all still suck," Dick commented as Terry carded his hand through his hair and the opening theme started to play, "but I'm glad you're home for now."

"And we are as well, Grayson," Damian replied, the others hmmm-ing and nodding in agreement.

Three hours later Bruce came back from the business trip with Alfred in tow and took in the scene of all five of his boys asleep together in the living room, credits of a recent movie rolling on the TV screen. Alfred walked up behind him and smiled at the sight.

"I believe we should let them rest here for the moment, Master Bruce," Alfred declared softly.

"I agree," Bruce smiled, throwing a blanket over Dick, who was cuddled into Terry's chest, and then one over Tim and Jason, and finally Damian. "They seem pretty happy right here, for now."

**Please review, I'd love to hear feedback! And any prompts or suggestions or stories you want written would be great to hear about, because it'll help me update much sooner! Otherwise, I have no idea how long it'll be until I have more. Thanks!**


	2. Intrigue

**For Sairey13, who reviewed first.**

**I based the new Batman's costume off of Jason's in Battle for the Cowl, but it's still 'Bruce.' Sorry it's short, second part is being written and will be up soon.**

**Nightwing-25 Robin-15 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters**

Robin flitted from one grimy rooftop to the next, accenting his travel with perfect flips and twirls. Batman led the way in a much more subtle fashion, creeping through the shadows in the darkness of downtown Gotham at the early hour of 2 am.

The two were responding to a call Nightwing had sent over their comms, alerting the duo to a disturbance near the infamous warehouse district. A powerful surge of energy had registered in a sensor in Nightwing's belt, and Batman had ordered him to wait to investigate until backup could arrive.

Batman and Robin found Nightwing crouched on a roof across from Warehouse-23, where the surge had been emitted from. The black-and-blue garbed vigilante waved them over, and the two obliged.

"Nightwing, report," Batman ordered gruffly, as he settled next to his oldest son with Robin at his side.

"I registered the surge 13 minutes ago, and the area is still pulsing with a...strange signature."

"Strange how," Batman demanded impatiently.

"Well, the thing is, this isn't something that you can exactly study, because there is very little evidence of it around, anywhere. But basically, the kind of energy my sensors detected is what our research suggests would be produced by interdimensional travel," Nightwing glanced up at his mentor as if he suspected to be reprimanded for telling a joke.

Batman contemplated Nightwing's explanation. He reached towards his utility belt and pulled out his own detector, switching on the compact device and examining the readings on the dim glow of the screen. After a moment the Dark Knight nodded in agreement.

"The readings do suggest something along those lines," he slipped the small box back into the proper slot of his belt.

Robin watched the conversation taking place, eyebrow rising under his mask.

"So, either someone's trying to get to another dimension, or someone tried to get to ours? Or already did get here, I guess."

Nightwing nodded absently as Batman produced a compact pair of binoculars from his belt and focused them through a broken window on the second floor of the warehouse. Robin and Nightwing waited for several moments in silence, until Batman lowered the lenses and shook his head slightly.

Batman stood up and shot his grapple to a ledge on an abandoned building closer to Warehouse-23, Robin and Nightwing on his tail.

Robin caught his balance neatly on the small concrete slab in a crouch, cape rustling in his wake.

"I'm going to go in and investigate," Batman announced after a moment of contemplation. "Nightwing, I want you to enter from the opposite side, wait for my cue." Nightwing nodded in acknowledgement and leaped off the ledge to find another entrance. Batman turned to his young partner.

"Robin, follow behind me. Stay hidden and observe until we know more about what's going on in there."

"Roger," Robin responded. "Hey, maybe there's an alien or something, here on an intergalactic mission," he grinned widely at his mentor. Although he couldn't be sure through the cowl, Robin knew enough about the man to suspect he was raising an exasperated eyebrow under his mask. The 15-year-old's grin faded into a satisfied smirk as he shot off a line and quietly slipped into the darkness. Batman followed close behind.

The Dynamic Duo entered quietly through a badly locked window on the second floor with a quick batarang slipped under the sill. They dropped to the concrete floor without a sound and found themselves on a railed balcony looking down over the ground level. Nightwing signalled at them from across the expanse of the room that he was ready.

Batman jumped over the railing and Robin dropped into a corner, shrouded by darkness but in perfect position to watch what was happening below. Nightwing stayed where he was, awaiting a sign from Batman that it was okay to move.

As the Dark Knight hit the bottom floor a shadow across from him shifted and came to life. A large figure emerged. Robin's eyes narrowed at first, trying to see who or what it was, and then they widened impossibly.

There, standing across from Batman was…Batman?

No, not quite his Batman, but a Batman nonetheless. The man was wearing the recognizable bat symbol on his chest, but his costume was majorly warped.

A belt of bullets was strung across his chest, and holsters with handguns hung around his waist. The part of the cowl that would normally expose Bruce's mouth was covered with some sort of metal, grated mask. The scariest part, though, was the glowing red eyes that were glaring intimidatingly at Batman.

Well, Robin's Batman. Ugh, this was going to get confusing.

"Who are you, what are you doing here," Batman demanded as he took in the figure of his new evil twin. The New Batman was silent for a long moment. Then he straightened, and took a few steps forward.

"I could ask you the same thing," the man's words came out rough and dangerous, but Robin could tell it was a raspier version of his own Batman's voice. Robin held his breath as Batman pulled himself into a full stance, filling the room with his fearsome presence.

"Answer the question," Bruce ordered firmly. Robin knew he was trying to assert dominance and take control of the situation. The New Batman cocked his head to the side slightly, and Robin could almost imagine the smirk spreading across his features.

"Well it appears that I'm you," the man's voice came out in a gravelly hiss.

"Stop avoiding the subject," Batman growled, "you have intruded on a dimension that is not your own. Explain yourself."

"So, you've already figured it out. Of course you have, you are me, after all. Yes, I'm from another dimension. I was working with a device that would supposedly allow for interdimensional travel, and it would appear the mechanics were functional."

"You can't stay here," Batman's gaze followed the line of the bullets and guns strapped across the New Batman's suit. "Do you have a way to get back to your own dimension?"

"I do," the man responded, "but I don't think I'm ready to go just yet. I am curious about a world different from mine, don't think I haven't noticed that you have no visible lethal weapons. Or that you have a partner stashed here in the rafters."

Robin's breath caught again and the rhythm of his heart sped up. His small panic was unproductive, however, because the New Batman's gaze did not travel to his corner, but to Nightwing's. Batman and Nightwing both knew he had been caught, and there was strength in numbers. Robin's oldest brother flipped cleanly over the railing and joined their mentor.

Batman acknowledged Nightwing then turned back to his 'twin.'

"You will go back to your own dimension. You are not welcome here," he ordered firmly. The New Batman responded with a snort-like noise from behind the metal mask.

"Who's going to stop me from having my fun?" The man whipped both guns out of their holsters and started firing at Batman and Nightwing. Batman dodged as Nightwing flipped to the side and pulled out his escrima sticks, both going straight for the rogue Batman to apprehend him.

An intense fight began to take shape. The two Batmans attacked each other with ferocity. Nightwing joined the scuffle with quick hits and jabs, jets of blue mixed in with the flurry of black.

The evil Batman landed a solid punch to Bruce's face, sending him sprawling backwards before he could catch his balance. Nightwing went in to get close and take out the guns, which seemed to have a never ending supply of bullets.

He whirled in combat with the red eyed man, but was never able to land a solid hit. Even as Batman collected himself and launched back into the fray, the New Batman seemed to have a constant upper hand.

A bullet whizzed past Nightwing's right arm, grazing it and eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the young man. He grabbed the bleeding limb with his opposite hand and clenched his teeth tightly. This was the final straw for Robin; no more hiding in the shadows.

As the rogue Batman made a move to take advantage of Nightwing's fault Robin landed on his back and did a quick handstand on his shoulders, swinging his legs over the man's head and delivering a powerful kick to his chest with both feet. Robin used the moment to flip in the air and land in a crouch in front of his vulnerable brother.

Batman, Nightwing, and Robin prepared for another onslaught of powerful combat but were caught off guard by the New Batman's lack of response. Instead of picking up where he left off, the rogue kept his distance and stared intently at the small group in front of him.

"So not one, but two partners? And this one went undetected by me, very impressive. Do you collect these little mini bats, Batman?" he sneered as he pronounced the name they shared. "They seem to be trained well. Yes, I'm very intrigued," the man stopped again and his head tilted in Robin's direction as he took a step toward the young bird.

Nightwing followed the man's gaze and mirrored his advance, placing himself in front of Robin. Batman discreetly pulled a batarang from his belt and cocked his wrist in preparation to throw.

As the projectile was launched through the air the rogue dodged suddenly and leapt up to the railing of the second floor, tossing smoke bombs in his wake. He shot a line into the rafters and disappeared as the other three scrambled to follow, losing sight of the target in the darkness. Robin made it outside first, heart pounding, but was met with a clear night and expanse of empty roof tops.

The Other Batman was simply gone.

"He's good. Really good," Nightwing commented as he and Batman joined Robin on the roof, voice laced with whispers of pain. Robin turned to his brother without a word and pulled a roll of gauze out of his belt. Nightwing removed his hand from his arm and allowed Robin to wrap the bullet wound tightly, staunching the bleeding for the moment.

Batman frowned as he scanned the area for any hint as to where the man had escaped to, finding none. He glanced sideways at his partners, then made a decision.

"We'll head back to the cave for the night," Batman announced. "Tomorrow we'll call Tim and Damian back into town. Our top priority is finding this 'Batman' before he does any damage to this city or the dimensional stream. We don't know if he has any goals or plans in mind, so he must be apprehended immediately."

The boys agreed silently and joined the Dark Knight in slipping back into the cloak of the night, minds filled with shock and possibilities that could come of this new Batman in Gotham, and his apparent willingness to use any force necessary. Someone who was willing to carry guns and use them was not someone they wanted running around their city.

XxBREAKLINExX

Batman descended upon a small foreclosed business building, entering through a broken storm cellar door. He stepped into a rundown basement and began to make use of his little hole-up for the time being.

Batman took off his metal face mask and pulled back his red-eyed cowl, then he discarded the heavy cape and tossed them all onto a rickety wooden table. Next came his bullets and then gun holsters and belt, until all he had left on was the basic bat suit that mirrored that of this other Batman he had met earlier that night.

He balanced himself upright by resting his palms on the edge of the table, then thought back to the run in with the dimensional mirror of himself and his strange partners. Batman having partners? It went against everything he had convinced himself of for so many years.

He was Batman, the Night, and he worked alone.

But there was something intriguing about these small proteges. They were good fighters, although he hadn't been able to witness much of the skills of the smaller one. Batman considered the benefits the two had brought to the fight. The one with blue stripes running down his arms had fluid moves, and had clearly been trained professionally well.

But then again, how well could they have been trained, if they weren't willing to kill? Batman had been able to pick up on that right away, seeing as they carried no lethal weapons and never took kill shots. He snorted. This Batman was soft. How had he managed to keep his city under control for so long?

And then the younger one, in red and yellow. An R was displayed on his chest; Batman wondered what that stood for. The boy had been completely hidden in shadows, not even detected by his finely tuned senses. And the perfectly executed flips and handstand on his shoulders? Now that was intriguing. He wondered what he could do with a partner of that much skill. Much more than his 'twin' was capable of, that was certain.

Batman had come to this dimension to test his theories of interdimensional travel, and to see what else was out there. He hadn't thought he might be this interested in what he found in other versions of his world. But now, a new plan was forming. The benefits to having a protege could be enormous, and here was one that couldn't be more than his mid teens.

Young, impressionable, and with the skills to please Batman. Yes, Batman's desire had been piqued, and suddenly he had one goal in mind. He smiled sinisterly in the reflection of a dirty mirror hanging on the wall. This little mini bat would be his, and there was no one who could stop him.

**I'll try to get part 2 up as soon as possible! As always, please REVIEW!**

**~~Nile**


	3. Intrigue 2

**Sorry guys I have no idea why I can't write longer chapters. Hopefully this will tide y'all over before the real action in the next part.**

**Terry-25 Damian-23 Tim-21 Jason-19 Dick-15 Bruce-41**

"So there was another Batman, who is willing to kill, and for some reason has a weird fascination with the fact that you have partners? Damn I regret going to that party now," Jason commented as he reread the report of the previous night's escapade. Tim pulled away from looking over Jason's shoulder and brought up a picture on the batcomputer of the rogue Batman, which Robin had taken as he sat in the rafters of the warehouse.

"He almost looks...younger than you, Bruce," he addressed his mentor. "Less muscle built up, a bit shorter, and the suit is less advanced. It's like he hasn't quite had time to fit himself into his role as a vigilante."

"He's still unbalanced and inexperienced in controlling his force," Bruce agreed. "When I first became Batman it was difficult to keep myself from being consumed by the darkness of this city. Through the League and all of you, I've stayed sane, but it's possible this other man hasn't had that advantage."

"And he became a killer through isolation. Which would explain why he's interested in your partners. He's intrigued that there could be some other alternative to working alone," Terry theorized, arms folded, standing behind the back of Tim's chair.

It was Saturday afternoon, and the members of the Wayne family had gathered in the batcave to review the events of the earlier morning. Tim and Damian had driven down to the manor as soon as Nightwing had called them. Jason was recovering from an all night bash at a friend's house, where he may, or may not, have ingested an excess amount of alcohol. Some Advil kept his raging headache in check.

When Batman, Nightwing, and Robin had gotten back from their encounter with the man from another dimension they had immediately headed to the cave to try to begin locating the rogue Batman. Bruce and Terry had ganged up on Dick to force him to get a couple hours of sleep, but they had stayed back to start their search.

Eventually Dick had rejoined them. Later Jason had stumbled in from a deep slumber, and Tim and Damian showed up shortly after. Together they had gone through everything the rogue had said, as well as his body language and implied intentions, trying to find a hint as to where he had gone after the fight.

Bruce wasn't planning on saying it out loud, but he was worried his 'twin's' next move would be to attack one of the other vigilantes Batman worked with. This man knew his identity, being, in a way, the same person, and Bruce had no doubt he would target his family first if he was seeking to take out the competition.

They needed to find the killer before he could threaten the heroes or anyone else in Gotham.

"Do we have a way to send the other Batman back to his own dimension?" Damian questioned his father.

"No, we don't, but he does. If we find Batman we will most likely find the device he used to send himself to our Gotham."

"Yeah, but we'll either have to make him tell us how it works or figure it out ourselves," Dick commented from his position at Bruce's side.

"Which we can do as soon as we have the device in our possession," Bruce countered, "so let's handle one issue at a time. Batman will most likely stay hidden until nightfall. If he has any sort of plan of action or task to complete it will be done when it's dark, so we have some time to spare. Tim, go over the security cameras from the surrounding warehouses again and see if you can pick out anything else that'll give us clues as to where he's going," Tim nodded and swiveled in the chair to do as he said.

Bruce continued, "Terry, Damian, make sure utility belts and suits are fully stocked with all weapons. I don't want to go into this fight unprepared. Jason, get some sleep," Jason looked up at his father with a sheepish smirk, "if you're going to join us on patrol tonight you need to be at your absolute best," Jason grinned and nodded, turning to head back to the main part of the manor.

"And Dick," Bruce addressed his youngest, "Young Justice has a mission. We're going to the cave, call your teammates."

Dick beamed excitedly and rushed off to put on his costume and do as Bruce had said.

"We're going to be fine, you know," Terry told his mentor. "There are six of us and one of him, and we're all trained well. We can take him down before he gets to any of us," he referred to Bruce's main fear.

"Don't get overconfident, McGinnis," Damian paused, "but he does have a point, Father. We will be able to take the Rogue down."

Bruce looked at each of his sons for a moment then nodded. Knowing this was the only response they would get, Damian and Terry turned to address the task they had been given.

Bruce considered their points, then moved to change into his Batman suit. Even if the family's odds were good he wasn't planning on taking any chances.

XxBREAKLINExX

Robin crouched on a rooftop and peered at the ground below through a small pair of night vision binoculars. Kid Flash squatted down beside him, switching his goggles to the same setting. It was only 8 at night but the sun had already set.

Robin acknowledged his best friend's presence with a glance. "There aren't any men stationed at these doors. None, KF, this doesn't make any sense, they should have a ton of security."

Kid Flash frowned warily and scanned the area for the third time, coming up with the same conclusion.

"Well, they are a pretty notorious drug ring. Maybe they figured no one would try to mess with them. Or that no one would find out when the exchange was going down," he suggested.

Robin sighed in frustration. "Yeah, maybe." Robin brought a finger up to his ear to speak over the comm to the only other person that had accompanied them on the observation-only stakeout.

"Superboy, can you hear anything going on in there?"

On a rooftop a couple buildings over Superboy listened hard but came up with nothing. The warehouse was well-built and sound insulated, but he would think he could hear something at least.

"Sorry, Robin. Are you sure this is the right place? There doesn't seem to be anyone here-wait," Superboy cut off suddenly.

"What is it, SB?" Kid Flash questioned worriedly.

"I hear something, but not from inside the building. I think it's coming from somewhere on the other side of the warehouse, but it's pretty faint."

"Okay," Robin quickly formulated a plan, "I'm going to go check out whatever it is. KF, Superboy, stay here. If it turns out there's nothing important over there we'll retreat and call Batman."

"You got it, Rob. Don't rush into anything you can't handle alone," Kid Flash warned with a grin.

Robin snorted playfully. "Dude, isn't that your gig?" With that, Robin silently shot off a grapple line and began to swing over to the roof Superboy had been referring to.

As Robin prepared to pull himself up to a ledge a whizzing sound flew past his ear with a brush of wind, and then he was falling. The line fell loosely from where it had been sliced apart and Robin yelled out for one of his teammates to come to his aid.

A strong arm caught Robin around his chest and cut off his plummet to the concrete, and at first he breathed a sigh of relief that Superboy had gotten there. Relief only lasted a moment, however, because as soon as Robin looked up at his rescuer all he saw were red eyes and cold metal.

Robin's eyes widened in realization and he began to struggle against the hold of the rogue Batman. The arms around him were too strong, however, and all Robin could do was yell a quick "Help!" to his teammates before a gloved hand was clamped firmly over his mouth.

At that moment Robin realized it had all been a setup. Somehow the dimension traveller had found a way to plant information about the drug deal going down, and he had known the mission would be given to the team. And if it was the team's mission, Robin would be separated from the rest of his family.

Robin's mouth and nose were covered tightly with a smelly chemical-soaked cloth as his arms were still pinned to his sides. The last thing he saw before passing out was a streak of black and red running straight toward him and his assailant.

XxBREAKLINExX

"What. Happened," Batman demanded, glaring down at the two young sidekicks. Inside he was quietly freaking out, but he showed it outwardly through a near-furious glare.

Kid Flash bit his lip and looked up at the Dark Knight with pleading eyes. "Superboy heard something, and Rob went to check it out, and then Robwasfallingandheyelledforhelpand-"

"Stop," Batman ordered. "My son is missing, taken by a Level 10 threat. I need to know what happened, now."

Kid Flash sighed, vibrating slightly in worry for his best friend. A Level 10 threat was bad. "As he fell this big shape caught him, and at first I thought it was Superboy, but then the guy had this huge cape. And then I thought it was you because he had kind of the same costume, you know? But Robin started yelling for help and the guy was holding a cloth over his mouth, which I figured was chloroform. I ran towards them but there was suddenly a ton of smoke and I couldn't see."

"By the time the smoke cleared Robin was gone," Superboy finished.

"We're so, so sorry, Batman. He really did look like you though. Cape and cowl and everything, but I swear I saw red eyes. What the heck is going on? Why did he take Rob?" Kid Flash inquired, voice laced with fear for the younger sidekick.

"He is another version of myself from an alternate dimension. We are not sure for what purpose he took Robin, but we will find out and we will find him. Both of them. In the mean time, shower and go home. We will discuss a more vigorous training in stealth later," Batman ordered.

Kid Flash paled. "Bats, we can help, we can-"

"No. You've done enough, I will handle Robin's rescue. Go."

Kid Flash sighed in defeat, but turned to do as Batman said. Superboy studied Batman for a moment, but decided the Dark Knight had more information and could therefore handle the case better. He turned to follow his teammate to the showers.

Batman waited until both young heroes were out of the main room of the cave before letting his facade crumble. Why had he ever let Robin go out tonight? It was stupid! Stupid, he knew the other Batman was out there, knew he was after his family, knew his sons were vulnerable.

Batman pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to force himself to stay calm and go over the facts. From what the rogue had said during their last encounter, he had no intention of killing or even majorly harming Dick, but Batman didn't want to take any chances.

Terry, Jason, and Damian were already examining the area that the stakeout had taken place, trying to find clues as to where Robin had been taken. Tim was attempting to figure out how the dimension traveller had managed to hack into their very secure server to plant the mission plans. Bruce was trying to keep them all busy, to prevent his boys from flying over the edge into major freakouts of overprotective fury.

Now if only Bruce could keep himself under control.

'Red Hood-B05,' the computer announced. Jason barged in in full vigilante gear, red helmet held tightly under one arm. Damian and Terry followed soon after their own names were called out over the cave's system.

"F**K, Bruce!" Jason cried as he stomped over.

"Jason, calm down. What did you find?" Bruce demanded, searching gaze snapping desperately between his sons.

Terry made a more peaceful entrance behind his brother, but the deep worry lines on his forehead were still intensely evident. "We picked up traces of the same energy we found at Warehouse-23," he declared gravely.

"The rogue Batman transported himself and Robin into another dimension, most likely the one he came from," Damian stated in the robotic tone that meant he was truly panicked. "So we have no way of knowing which dimension that is, or how to get there. We barely have any way to start searching."

As Batman was about to respond, a beeping sound erupted from the computer. Bruce pulled up a video chat of Tim's worried face from where he sat in the Batcave.

"Bruce, this is ridiculous," Tim sounded strung out, less able to hide his over active emotions. "The guy is an incredibly skilled hack, and I mean really good. He got past all our security with almost no problem, and the only reason I was able to find a trace of intrusion was because I helped design the system myself. We aren't going to get any clues from this angle, he covered his tracks too well."

Bruce grunted in understanding and frustration; there went one of their best leads. Tim might've been able to use the footprints the rogue left in their systems to trace where he had been holed up, but now it seemed that he was too good for that. Bruce wanted to scream, this situatation seemed so hopeless.

No. No, he wasn't going to think like that. What they really needed to do was regroup. They needed to get back to the Batcave and go over everything again and again until they had a new lead. They needed to find Robin, Dick, before this other version of himself was able to cause any irreversible damage.

Bruce pulled off his cowl and looked each of his sons in the eye.

"Let's get back to the cave. I think I have an idea."

**Note: I realize Kid Flash wouldn't have given up that easily, but I want this to be mostly about the bat family so I needed him out of the picture.**

**Only one or two more parts in this arc, the real action will start up in the next chapter! As always, please REVIEW!**

**~~Nile**


	4. Intrigue 3

**Two chapters within a week? You guys are so spoiled.**

**Okay so I realized after I wrote this chapter that it sounds sort of similar to Forever Evil #4. I'm sorry about that, but I already really liked what I had written so I hope you all like it anyway. **

**Thanks again, Sairey13, for helping out with the little details and Dick's backstory.**

Dick regained consciousness with a pounding headache behind his eyes, and for the first few moments that was all he could concentrate on. Slowly, though, he began to register other things that were sending alarm bells raging in his brain; bells that so did not help the headache.

Dick was cold. He was lying on his side, cheek pressed against a hard metal surface, cape spilling over his back and shoulder. He shivered as he tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten there, because it sure wasn't comfortable. Dick squeezed his eyes shut tighter, fighting past the pain to wrack his brain for memories of the last time he was conscious.

There was...a mission. With Kid Flash and Superboy, to...what was it again? Surveillance. Scouting out a drug deal, but they hadn't found anything. Instead, Superboy had heard some weird noise, and Robin had gone to check it out.

Dick's eyes flew open and he sat straight up, immediately regretting the fast movement with a wince, doubling back over. That other Batman, the one from another dimension, had grabbed him! Cut his line and shoved chloroform in his face, and now Dick had no idea where he had been taken, or if his family knew either.

He needed to calm down. Dick knew the most important thing right then was to get ahold of himself and get his bearings, so he could be ready for whatever he was about to be faced with. Dick rubbed a hand over his eyes to get the last of the blurriness out and sat up again, but this time with slow control. He blinked a couple times to clear his vision, then began to check off his own mental list.

Nothing hurt besides his head, and even there the pain was beginning to recede. He wasn't tied up, at least, so he could move his arms and legs into a more comfortable position on the ground. Dick's mask had been removed, as well as his utility belt and other little gadgets in his suit, but the rest of his costume was still intact.

The metal he was lying on was actually the floor of a moderately sized cell, completely empty except for his presence. White walls surrounded him on three sides, but the fourth was made of see-through glass. It had a door to the far left, secured with an electrical lock system, with a small slot and holes in its center. Dick figured they were probably for food and air.

Dick pulled himself up off the ground clumsily, still feeling the effects of the drug the rogue had forced into him. He stumbled over to the glass wall, placing one gloved hand against it to hold himself up, and rested his forehead against the cool material. When Dick finally looked around at his surroundings, he reeled back in momentary shock.

He was in the batcave.

Dick shook off the momentary stun and forced himself to realize: he should have suspected this. There was no way the other Batman would have stayed in Dick's dimension once he had kidnapped him. No, he would have transported them both back to his own home immediately, for fear of being apprehended by Dick's family.

Looking around the batcave, heart racing, he saw major differences from the one he spent so much time in, even though the basic structure was the same. There was no dinosaur or giant penny. Instead, Dick saw racks of guns and explosives. There were no cases of past costumes worn by members of the batfamily, and the technology Dick was so used to seeing was either missing, moved, or terribly out of date.

Dick shut his eyes and took a calming deep breath, pulling his forehead back from the glass. When he opened his eyes once again he was sent stumbling backwards with a jolt, a quiet yelp finding its way out of his mouth.

Red eyes stared straight back at him, sending shivers of fear down Dick's back.

"Hello Richard," the gravelly voice reached his ears after a moment of tense silence. Dick just stared, unable to form words around the fear coursing through his body. The Batman stepped right up to the glass, pulling off his cowl and face mask. The face of his mentor was revealed, but the gory, jagged scar down its left side and the dark, haunted eyes made Dick blanch.

"Nothing to say, I see. That's alright, I'm sure we can beat the shyness out of you in time," the rogue's lips spread into an eerie smile, almost as if he was trying to be comforting. "You're going to be here for a long time, Dick, and I encourage you to get used to it."

"Why did you take me?" Dick blurted suddenly, startling himself with his boldness. He straightened his posture and tried to appear undaunted by the man's imposing words. Dick wished he was still wearing his mask; being Robin made him feel stronger.

"Because you should be mine. You are rightfully mine, Little Bird," Batman replied.

"Don't call me that," Dick snarled. He took a couple steps forward, closer to the man on the other side of the glass wall. "You had no right. No right to take me from my family."

"Hmm, well they weren't doing a very good job of protecting you, were they?" The man mused. "Not when it was so easy for me to pluck you right out of that dimension."

"They'll come for me."

"I doubt it. There's no way they'll ever be able to take you from me now. Not when you're in another dimension and when I'm watching over you."

"'Watching over me?' That's what you're calling it now? You're delusional. I don't know what you're expecting from me, but I'll never be your partner. I'll never stop fighting to get out of here and back to them."

Batman chuckled, "I remember that fire quite well, Little Bird. I'm sure we will work well together."

The glare was startled momentarily off of Dick's face, replaced by confusion. "Remember? What do you mean, remember. You don't know me, you know nothing about me!"

"On the contrary, Dick, I know you well. Why do you think I was so interested in you? Why do you think I took you, instead of your older, stronger brothers?"

"Because you're cruel?" Dick snapped, "Because you're evil, and insane, and you wanted to-"

"That's enough," Batman interrupted, face twisted in anger. "You will be respectful, and you will obey me. You're going to be safe here, I won't let anything happen to you."

"You're the one that's putting me in danger! You're not keeping me safe at all!" Dick tried to stay in control of his emotions, but this guy was crazy!

"No!" Batman shouted, pounding one fist on the glass, "You don't understand, Richard! I lost you once, I won't make that mistake again!"

Dick was stunned. The emotions running across the man's face were competing, and there was a sadness there that he hadn't seen before.

"What do you mean?" Dick questioned in a soft voice, approaching the subject as submissively as possible. He needed more information if he was going to get out of there in one piece.

"You - I was there, that night. It happened here, too," Dick paled immediately. He knew exactly what the rogue was talking about, and he didn't like the direction this confession was going in.

"Your parents fell and you were kneeling there on the ground with all the pain that I felt so many years ago. So, I took you in. But you already know that, your Bruce must have done the same thing."

Dick bristled at the malice directed towards his mentor, but was careful not to show it on his face. He nodded for the rogue to continue.

The man seemed encouraged by Dick's apparent willingness to listen. "You were...you were so angry. Angry at the world and at the circumstances it had thrown at you. But mostly, you were angry at Zucco."

Dick mentally growled at the way Batman seemed to be talking about him directly. He was clearly looking at Dick and seeing the boy he had taken in, but they weren't the same person.

"I made the choice to help you get your revenge. When I took you in it made me forget the darkness for a moment. I thought...I could help you, and maybe that light that I felt would stick around. So we went after Zucco," Batman's voice took on a broken quality. Dick recognized it from all the times he had heard it from his own mouth, as well as those of his family. It came from losing someone you cared about.

"I looked away for just a moment and then there was a gunshot, and you were on the ground covered in blood. He shot you in the chest, and I couldn't save you," Batman paused and stared painfully into Dick's blue eyes, "Tony Zucco was the first man I killed. I did it for you, Dick, but you were already gone and I didn't think I'd ever get you back."

Dick started to realize the depths of Batman's mental instability. This man didn't just want a partner. He wanted Dick to fill a void that had been left empty for a long time, but no matter how similar their story Dick wasn't the same person as the one Batman had lost.

"Your Bruce has five partners, five sons to help him through the cruelty of Gotham City. Why does he deserve that?!" The suddenness of Batman's change from sadness to anger gave Dick whiplash. "Why should he get what I have been denied all these years! No, this time I won't mess this up, I won't lose you again," The man was shouting in determination and ferocity, face contorted so that the scar glared at Dick angrily.

No. No, no, no, the man had snapped; Dick could tell. This was everything he had needed to avoid to get back home to his family, but that goal was looking bleaker with each new point Batman brought up. Batman, because Dick refused to think of him as his mentor. This man wasn't Bruce, he never would be.

Dick froze as Batman abruptly ended his ramblings and focused an intense gaze on him, standing in the middle of the cell. Suddenly the rogue moved swiftly to the door with a swish of his cape and entered a code into it, effectively causing the glass to slide open. Dick's eyes widened in fear and he tried to scramble backwards and away, but Batman was faster. He surged forward and grabbed onto Dick's upper arm with a painfully tight grip, dragging him across the cell and out into the cave.

"I saw your fighting earlier, and you're good, but you need to be better. You need to be perfect so you can't get hurt again," Batman snarled, all notes of compassion fleeing from his expression. Dick began to panic, struggling to pull away.

"No! Please, I'm sorry that you lost him, but we aren't the same person!" Dick tried to tug his arm out of the crushing grip, but to no avail, "Just think about how my Batman will be affected by losing me! You don't want to make someone else feel the pain you felt," he begged desperately.

"He has others, but I've lost everyone," Batman yanked on Dick's arm one last time, then threw him hard onto the cave floor. Dick's head snapped back and he sprawled out painfully. Groaning he pushed himself up on his arms and tried to flip over to face the rogue, but he was stopped by a boot on his chest. Batman pressed down firmly, and Dick wheezed around the pressure.

"We have a lot of work to do. You can start by getting up," he ordered as he continued to press harder. What the hell was going on? Dick didn't understand how he could've turned around to become so violent all of the sudden, but then again he knew he couldn't assume to know how the man's brain worked.

Okay, the guy wanted him to get up. Even though he was pressing him hard into the ground, cutting off air and bruising his ribcage. Sure, why not. Dick didn't think he would have many other chances outside the cell, so he needed to escape now.

"Please, just let me go home!" Dick tried, trying to distract him. He inhaled, puffing up his chest, and managed to get enough leverage to push his back an inch or two up off the ground.

"Get it through your head now, Little Bird, you're mine. You'll never see that little family of yours again," Batman was angry, and that worked in Dick's favor. Dick exhaled suddenly, making himself as small as possible. He used the small space he had created under himself to roll out from under the rogue and simultaneously shove his foot aside, knocking the man off balance.

Dick continued to roll another few feet, then leapt to his feet and spun to block the off-kilter kick aimed at his head. He flipped backwards out of Batman's attack line, then used the man's momentary stun to take off running towards the motorcycles he knew waited near the exit.

Dick lept over equipment and protruding rocks, cape moving behind him in a flurry, but it wasn't enough. He felt himself being dragged back by his cape, and then a rough hand wrapped around his neck. Batman shoved him roughly against the stone cave wall and squeezed the air out of his throat. Dick's hands clawed at the gloves on his neck, trying to gulp in air to no avail. Batman backhanded him hard across the left cheek, then finally dropped Dick into a heap on the ground.

Dick stayed there, unmoving on the floor, cheek stinging and throat throbbing. Tears stung behind his closed eyelids, but he refused to let them fall. Instead, he clutched his stomach in the fetal position on the cold stone and spewed hacking coughs. When Dick opened his eyes, he saw Batman's boots right next to his face, and he couldn't hold back the shudders of fear and pain.

Batman knelt next to him and gently helped him to lean back against the wall. Dick stared down at his knees, curled against his chest, and refused to meet the rogue's hard gaze. The other man didn't like that, however. He reached out and grabbed ahold of Dick's chin, pulling his head up so he could see into Dick's utterly defeated eyes. Batman wiped a thumb across Dick's cheek as he finally allowed a tear to fall, and the man's expression was so Bruce-like that Dick just couldn't take it anymore. He shrunk back from Batman's touch, trying to make himself as small as possible against the wall.

Batman looked sad again, replacing the fury, like he felt bad for causing Dick's misery.

"It's alright, Little Bird, I'll take care of you, I promise."

Dick choked on a sob, dread spreading in a cold wave through his veins.

_Please, Bruce, anyone. Come save me._

**Probably only one chapter left in this arc, please REVIEW!**

**~~Nile**


	5. Intrigue 4

**Okay so this kind of got really out of hand. I had no intention of making the chapter so long, but I couldn't get the ending right so it just got longer and looonger. Oh well. **

**I was a bit rushed so YES there are some small plot holes. Sorry about that, hope you can enjoy it anyway!**

When Dick slowly regained consciousness, he didn't move. He had learned from the many previous moments waking up that he would be sore, very sore, and it was better if he didn't try to push his body too hard.

Dick kept his eyes closed and twitched his arms, testing their limits. He could feel a soft surface under his bruised body, so he figured someone must have moved him onto the cot pushed up against the back wall in the white cell. The small mattress was by no means exceptionally comfortable, and it didn't have any sheets or blankets to keep Dick warm, but it did offer some relief in the moments when he didn't feel like he would ever move again.

After testing out his legs and torso, Dick figured he could probably risk trying to sit up. He rolled his head to the side, cheek resting on the cot, and gently peeled open his tired eyes. Slowly, he moved his arms back and propped himself up gingerly on his elbows. He groaned as something in his chest was jostled painfully, but he set his mouth and pushed past the ache.

Dick moved his weight from his elbows to his hands. He drew himself up and leaned his back against the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He ducked his head down to rest on his knees, shaking with small spasms jolting throughout his beaten body.

Dick was done crying, though. If he was honest with himself, he just didn't have any tears left. Because of his irregular sleep schedule Dick had no clue how long he had been trapped in the dark underground cave that was so much like the one he shared with his family. If he had to guess it had to have been four or five days at least.

Batman's rigorous 'training' schedule basically just consisted of handing Dick a list of exercises and watching intensely as he completed it, or of them sparring together. When they sparred Batman held nothing back. Dick had kept up at first, but as his body became more and more black and blue and his movements were increasingly limited by aching muscles he found himself floundering in his fighting skills. Batman was insisting he needed to be tougher and stronger, but all Dick felt was weak and broken.

During the training sessions, when he was free of the cell, Dick had tried twice more to make his escape. He had finally figured out where Batman was keeping the dimension device, although the man didn't know he knew, and had tried to formulate a plan to retrieve it before Batman could apprehend him. None of his escape attempts had been successful in accomplishing anything other than extra hard training and diminishing Dick's hopes for freedom. That hope was now running dangerously low.

Dick looked up nervously when he heard the glass door opposite the cot slide open. He let out a sigh of relief, muscles relaxing, when he realized who was entering the small space.

"Master Richard, how are you feeling?" Alfred inquired. It wasn't Dick's Alfred, of course; it was the one that had raised the rogue Batman, but the familiar kindness was the same. Actually, the butler had been a complete saint of comfort to the younger man, treating his injuries and bringing food and water when he needed it. It had even been Alfred's idea to have the cot added to the room. Batman had objected, but had caved under his surrogate father's glares and finally relented.

"Sore," Dick croaked out, cracking a strained smile. Alfred walked farther into the cell, settling the covered tray he was holding down at the end of the cot. He sat down on the mattress near Dick's feet and reached out to brush his bangs off his sweaty forehead. Dick allowed it, even leaning into the touch, craving physical contact that didn't involve punching and kicking.

Alfred helped Dick drop his arms from around his knees and stretch his legs out in front of him, uncurling the boy from his tight position against the wall. He prodded the area around Dick's ribs, causing him to wince slightly. Alfred nodded as if finding exactly what he had suspected, then pulled out strips of KT tape from a pocket in his coat.

Dick allowed Alfred to lift his arms above his head. "Leave them there, sir," he ordered firmly. Dick nodded and obeyed as Alfred lifted the top of Dick's costume over his head, folding it and setting it next to him on the bed. He then strategically taped the area around his ribs so that they wouldn't strain. Dick watched the man's face, but his expression revealed nothing.

"Please. Can't you get him to let me go? He listens to you," he begged the butler quietly. It was something they had danced over many times. Dick knew Alfred had a lot of influence over Batman, but he was also unwaveringly loyal.

"I am truly sorry, Master Richard," and Dick could tell that he was, "I know that you are not happy now, but maybe you will be in time. Bruce will soon realize how precious you are, and he will soften his methods. I think you are the best way to bring light back into his eyes and his life, young sir. And I thank you for that." Alfred's eyes pleaded for Dick to understand, but he turned his head away and wouldn't meet the old man's gaze.

Alfred lowered Dick's arms without another word. He patted the boy's leg gently and got to his feet, leaving the tray of food behind as he silently exited the cell and locked the door behind him. Dick watched him go with disappointment, but he hadn't really been expecting Alfred to help him escape.

Dick shivered. The loss of his tunic and the lack of heat in his prison made him curl up on himself again. He felt like he had been cold for so long, but he couldn't get rid of it because the cold came from loneliness and loss, not the temperature of the air. Memories of good times with his family and friends were the only things that kept him warm anymore.

A faint clatter from the depths of the cave beyond Dick's cell jolted him out of his musings. Alfred tended to prefer avoiding the batcave, Dick knew that, so he probably went back to the main house as soon as he patched Dick's chest. That only left one other person that could have caused the noise.

Dick tensed his muscles in anticipation, drawing himself in as small as possible. He could feel himself beginning to tremble, and hated how much he was allowing Batman to terrify him. Quiet footsteps approached the glass cell wall, and Batman, dressed in workout clothes, appeared on the otherside.

Dick felt his breathing speed up. Batman's hollow eyes bored into him, and Dick found it impossible to look away.

"I expect you to be ready for training in 15 minutes. I'll come back to take you to the sparring room," he ordered gruffly, and Dick paled at the thought. Batman turned away from the glass and made to leave, but then decided against it and turned back to look at Dick. "Eat first, and make sure you're hydrated. I want you to be healthy for training today," he added, more softly this time. He turned again and left Dick alone.

Dick watched him go with dread, knowing he didn't want to keep the man waiting. Gingerly adjusting his body, he carefully swung his legs around the side of the bed and steadied himself on his feet. He picked up the top of his costume, managing to slip it back on with only a small groan. Batman had taken his cape on what must have been the second day, and Dick missed the warmth and slight extra protection it could have provided.

Dick stumbled over to the tray Alfred had provided. He opened it to reveal a breakfast of eggs and fruit, which he was sure would be as delicious as the ones he ate at home. Nostalgia hit Dick hard, and he choked out a small sob. As the smell of the food wafted through the air, he found himself lost in despair that he would never feel the warmth of his familiar world again.

XxBREAKLINExX

Terry wanted to pound his head into the wall of the batcave in frustration. He hadn't slept in nearly 20 hours, and the hours of stress and worry were weighing down on him heavily. His eyes were bloodshot and he hadn't shaved since Dick had been taken, five days ago. Terry knew his brothers and Bruce, who were also in the cave with him, hadn't taken any better care of themselves.

Terry's arms held him up as he leaned against the console in the cave. The brightness of the screen bore down on his eyes, but he forced himself to concentrate on the data Bruce and Tim were trying to show.

"Look, it took a while," Terry's head lolled down for a moment in exhaustion, "but I think I've finally isolated the frequency that appears on the sensor of the dimension the other Batman is from," Terry's head snapped up at Tim's announcement. His younger, genius brother had an exhausted smile on his face, but he looked ecstatic nonetheless. Terry could see the stunned, happy expressions on Damian and Jason's faces as well. Bruce still looked serious, but Terry spotted the slight loosening of muscles, and tension left the older man's shoulders.

"I had to dissect the workings of the sensor we used to detect dimensional travel, then I isolated the frequency and measured it against-" Tim's explanation was interrupted by an impatient Jason.

"Great job Tim, really, but does it really matter how you found it?" Jason's impatience shone through his voice, "How do we use it to find Dick?"

Tim glared at Jason in annoyance, "If you would let me finish, Jason," Jason rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but nodded to the older boy. Tim turned to address Bruce, "Basically if we had a way to travel into other dimensions, I know the fingerprint of the one we need to get to. We just, you know, need a way to get there," Tim looked uncertain and lost now, like he had hit a dead end and didn't know what to do with himself.

Terry knew Tim had been working from that end without many breaks since Dick had been kidnapped. While Tim and Bruce had worked on the technology end, the rest of the batboys had helped the two collect data and searched for a way to travel between dimensions once they figured out where Batman had taken Dick.

Damian was the one that ultimately came up with their ticket to the other dimensions. Doctor Fate had been somewhat difficult to track down, as he was taking a short break from the League to deal with matters of Order, but they had finally managed to get ahold of him. Fate was reluctant to help at first, reasoning it wasn't his domain or place to mess with the other world.

Again, Damian had been the most convincing. He argued that the dimension Batman had taken Dick back to probably already had a Richard Grayson. Bringing their Dick into the same world could cause some serious interdimensional problems. Eventually Fate had caved, agreeing to assist them with their cause.

"We do have a way of getting there, Drake," Damian snapped, "We can get Doctor Fate here shortly." Tim looked surprised, opening his mouth to reply, but was again cut off.

"So what are we waiting for?" Jason demanded, "Let's call him now! Who knows what that man is doing to him? We've already waited too long!"

"Jason, all of you, calm down," Bruce ordered gruffly, voice rough from underuse over the trying last few days, "We need a plan first. And all of us need rest."

Terry whirled around to stare at his surrogate father, "Bruce, we need to get to Dick now!"

Bruce held up a hand to silence Terry, "We aren't going to go into an unfamiliar dimension, where there is a very skilled fighter ready to oppose us, without making sure we are completely ready to be at our best," Bruce was then quiet for a moment. Silence spread throughout the cave as they waited for him to continue.

"I know we're all worried about Dick," he finally said softly. The boys' drooping postures and tired eyes were evidence of the difficulties they had had in the eternity their youngest had been missing, "and we will get him back, there is no doubt of that. But you all need rest. I'll call Doctor Fate and have him come to the cave. I want you all to go upstairs and get four hours of sleep, and then we'll leave immediately."

They were all ready to protest that they could, in fact, be ready to go now and retrieve their brother, but Bruce wouldn't hear it. He was backed up by Alfred, coming down the stairs with bottles of water.

"You have found a way to retrieve Master Richard, sirs?" He asked neutrally, but Terry could see the relief in his eyes.

"Yeah, we did, Alfie," Terry responded.

"But Bruce wants us to 'get some rest,'" Jason grumbled angrily.

Alfred's mouth twitched into an almost smile, but he nodded resolutely, "And Master Bruce is right. You can't expect to save the young Master looking like you haven't slept in a month. Go upstairs now, all of you, I don't want to hear anymore arguments."

The boys all obeyed after only a moment of hesitation. As they left the cave, Bruce turned to his butler and old friend. "Thank you," he said simply. Alfred smiled softly at him.

"Get that boy back, Master Bruce," he said simply. Bruce nodded. He planned to do exactly that.

XxBREAKLINExX

Dick was breathing hard, almost choking on the water he was trying to force down his throat. He had collapsed onto the ground after a sparring session with Batman. He had finally been allowed a break after hours of intense training. Dick wasn't sure how much longer he could handle this. He could already feel himself breaking under the strain.

Batman had left him alone for the moment, for which Dick was grateful. He wasn't ready to stand up and fight again, and it was much harder to rest with the man staring him down. Just as the thoughts were running through his mind, Batman came barging back into the training room.

Dick stumbled to his feet, trying to get out of his way, because Batman looked angry. Furious, really, but also some underlying frantic worry. Batman strode forward and grabbed onto Dick's arm, hand crushing around a familiar bruise. He dragged Dick across the room, the boy crying out in pain as his body was jostled.

"We need to leave. Now," Batman growled. Dick was frantic, simultaneously trying to free himself and figure out what was happening.

"What's wrong?" Dick asked, voice a strained whimper. "Where are we going, what's happening?" Dick could barely keep his thoughts straight. Batman glanced down at him. He gave Dick's arm a hard yank before continuing to drag him across the cave.

"We have unwanted guests," Batman replied vaguely. Dick hopelessly tried to get his footing as Batman continued to hurry towards the cave's exit.

Suddenly, a burst of gold light erupted in front of the two. Batman reeled back, trying to divert their course around it. The light formed into the golden symbol of Doctor Fate, and Dick's eyes widened. A flow of hope flowed through him as he realized that this could mean freedom.

Dick twisted in Batman's hold to look back behind him. He choked up with relief as Jason first emerged from the light, followed by the rest of his family in full costume. Batman seemed to be stunned as well, and Dick took the opportunity to rip out of his grip.

As Damian burst out of the portal Doctor Fate had created, he joined the others in searching frantically for Dick and the rogue Batman. Fortunately he spotted them right away. Dick had seen their entrance and was struggling out of Batman's grip, face pained but with a great relief on his face. Damian met Dick's eyes and smiled for the first time in days.

As the rest of Damian's family noticed Dick as well, they burst forward in sync. Bruce, Terry, and Jason headed straight for the rogue Batman, stopping him before he could regain his hold on Dick. They immediately engaged the man in a fast paced battle, but Damian could tell his family had the upper hand.

Dick pulled away from the brawl and tripped unsteadily towards Damian and Tim. They both surged forward and caught Dick before he hit the ground. Damian wrapped his arms around his little brother, and Tim joined them as they crouched to the ground for a moment. Damian could feel Dick shaking in his arms. He was cold, and most of Dick's body that Damian could see was covered in black and blue. The bruises angered Damian, infuriated him, but he didn't let the fury cloud his judgement.

As Dick buried his face in Damian's chest, Damian turned to Tim. The brothers may not always get along, but in that moment they were completely in sync. The battle sounds were dying in the background as the vigilantes gained the upperhand, but Damian wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Dick seemed to have gone limp in his arms. Damian realized he had passed out; whether from stress or pain or just plain relief he wasn't sure. Damian scooped the 15-year-old into his arms and carried him bridal style straight to the portal, closely followed by Tim. With one last glance to the battle on the other side of the cave they leapt through the portal, back into their own dimension.

Doctor Fate was standing on the other side when they landed, holding the portal open. He nodded at the boys as they rushed past him and to the medbay of the cave. Alfred joined the boys as Damian laid Dick down on a bed, and the butler started to check his vitals. Once he was reassured Dick wasn't in danger of dying, he began to wrap up obvious injuries, including a sprained wrist.

Damian and Tim sat back and watched Alfred work, feeling the tension and worry drain away. They both took off their masks and watched as Alfred stripped Dick of his dirty Robin costume. Damian helped the butler change their youngest into sweats and a t-shirt, before Alfred stepped back to give the brothers room to fuss over Dick.

Dick's eyes slowly opened and peered lethargically up at his brothers. He smiled when he realized where he was. Dick quickly began to push himself up into a sitting position, but was stopped by Tim's hand on his shoulder.

"Whoa, Buddy, take it easy," his words seemed to have a calming effect on the young man. He slowed down but pulled himself the rest of the way up. Tim sat down next to him on the bed, wrapping him up in a warm hug, which Dick returned gratefully. Damian sat next to his younger brothers, placing a hand on Dick's back and rubbing gently.

Dick let out a happy sob and squeezed Tim tighter, "I missed you guys so much." Damian smiled at the confession and moved his hand up to Dick's hair, stroking through it comfortingly.

"We missed you too. And we never stopped looking. I'm so glad you're back, Grayson," he turned as he heard the rest of his family coming through the portal. They stepped into the cave and Doctor Fate closed the portal behind them. He shook hands with Bruce, then vanished in a beam of gold light.

Bruce, Terry, and Jason joined the rest of the Waynes around Dick's bed. The youngest looked up at his family and pulled away from Tim. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't seem to get the words out. Damian scooted behind him and wrapped him in his arms, Dick leaning against his chest. Jason joined them sitting on the bed, and Terry and Bruce stood around them. Dick seemed to revel in the closeness of everyone.

The family didn't say anything for a few minutes. They just sat with each other and enjoyed being together again. Eventually Dick fell asleep in Damian's arms, and the boys trickled away to shower and change. Once they were alone for a second, Damian stayed with Dick and held his little brother for a moment longer. he leaned down and pressed a kiss against the boy's hair, then leaned his forehead against the same spot. He removed himself from behind the 15-year-old and laid him down against the pillows, covering him up with sheets and blankets. Damian was so thankful he wasn't injured any more than he was.

"We got him back. He's okay," Terry came up behind Damian and whispered as if he had read his mind.

Damian glanced back at his older brother, "And what of the other Batman?"

Terry looked thoughtful. "We took him down without much of a problem. Doctor Fate agreed to take care of him, whatever that means."

Damian nodded, accepting the explanation even though it was vague. "I'm just glad we got him back."

"Yeah. Me too," Terry agreed. They watched Dick's chest rise and fall in silence for a few seconds. "I don't know what we'd do without him at this point," he commented with a small chuckle.

"He's safe, that's all that matters," Damian declared with finality. He tried to make himself walk away, but he didn't want to leave Dick's side. Terry seemed to be feeling the same thing.

"Why don't we just...stay for a little while longer," Terry suggested softly. Damian nodded without looking at him. They both pulled up chairs and sat, ready to watch over Dick as long as they needed to.

**And, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the end of the Intrigue arc. Thanks for reading!**

**I will be taking a small break from this 'verse to write the next chapter in Speedster Tail, but I will be back soon! Prompts and suggestions are still always great. Or I might dip into ones I have gotten before, who knows? Anyway, please...**

**REVIEW!**

**~~Nile**


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